text:
It isn't VP policy to name names usually, but this gentleman's tone was so aggressive that he deserves to be identified. On his own FB page he describes himself as 'Belligerent Ruler of the Planet Earth'. You are encouraged to visit if you want to enjoy more of his pearls of wisdom, such as: "Mental. Thankyou very much to the lefty anti-UKIP article someone posted the other week listing me in the top 8 'worst UKIP tweeters' my Twitter following gave me a much needed boost from fellow Kippers!"
He's right – that is mental. Or maybe they are…
His communication with me was as follows (in fact the first is much the same as a comment he posted to the blog itself): "The UKIP picture you have published as an article was created by a Green Party member/supporter before the European and Council Elections.
"It's so outdated it's cringeworthy."
Let's just pause for a moment and look at the caption under the image, which states that "Most of the links on this now-infamous meme have been taken down by UKIP members, anxious to hide the embarrassing facts they revealed. The vote in favour of marital rape is not so easily removed as it is recorded on the European Parliament's official website." It explains perfectly adequately that matters have moved on since the image was created.
Back to Mr Evans, who asks: "Are you just recycling out info to damage UKIP or are you genuinely just that out of date?!"
Neither. I was using it as a direct example of the way UKIP behaves.
"The picture makes use of 2010 manifesto policies which have long since been abandoned.
"UKIP's 2015 General Election manifesto doesn't come out until September. Same goes for the other parties if you hadn't realised. So how on Earth can you be critical about any parties policies for an election when they haven't even been released yet?!
"In fact the only certain policies released by UKIP aren't mentioned anywhere in your article or that picture so are you intentionally trying to be misleading?!"
You will know, Dear Reader, that this ground has been covered very thoroughly already – here, for example, and also here and here.
So Yr Obdt Srvt was very sure of his ground when he responded: "I checked the accuracy of the information contained in the meme and was able to substantiate everything except the claim about cutting education funding to build aircraft carriers.
"Just because this information has since been taken down (to eliminate embarrassment for the party?) that does not make it any less valid.
"Don't waste my time with the argument about the manifesto.
"And don't waste my time with suggestions that I am trying to be misleading. It is UKIP that has tried to mislead the public, and it is UKIP that is desperately trying to cover up its policy indiscretions."
Alas – as noted in my article earlier today, Kippers don't like to let the facts get in their way. Mr Evans got back to me with the following:
"'eliminate embarrassment'
"Eliminate what embarrassment?
"You are referring to past policies as current policies in your article."
No. He inferred that, but the line "Policies put forward by UKIP or by high-level members of UKIP include…", although a quotation from a previous article, is as accurate now as it was when it was first typed, a couple of months ago. UKIP, or high-level members, did put forward those policies. There is no reference in today's article to whether they are from the past or still active.
"Understand this…
"2010 manifesto – 4 years ago for the 2010 General Election
"2015 manifesto – Released in September this year for 2015 General Election."
None of the references in the meme – or those that were discovered when VP was researching its allegations – are from this 2010 manifesto, though. Some are from the 2013 manifesto, and some are from the party's own policy page (now deleted, although the likelihood of eliminating embarrassment is muted by the fact that UKIP cannot say it was left there for so long by mistake and still expect to be taken seriously).
"UKIP have only divulged a handful of policies non of which are detailed on the picture you referenced."
Perhaps they weren't relevant to the points being made.
"What you have referenced has been discussed to death on Twitter and Facebook and even the Green Party chap who created it has admitted it is outdated information."
We'll get back to Mr Abberton momentarily.
"Nigel Farage party leader said 5 MONTHS AGO that the 2010 manifesto is outdated, unwanted and will not be used again policies wise for the next General Election.
"Lord Pearson of Rannoch was the party leader at the time of the 2010 election, he compiled and produced the manifesto."
Irrelevant, for reasons mentioned above. Now we get to the grit:
"Your comment about 'embarrassing the party' is more an 'embarrassment' to yourself. You are referencing outdated information as if it is current policies and information. So what you are in fact doing as you have been informed to this fact by myself is lying to your readers…
"Is this what you are? A person intentionally lying to mislead the electorate? If so please tell me…
"You say that UKIP are misleading the electorate. Feel free to tell me how?
"UKIP have said on numerous occasions, varying members and reps that the 2010 manifesto is defunct and not worth the paper it is written on. It no-longer represents UKIP.
"Yet you are posting it as current information which is misleading.
"You are the liar. You have been informed and if you continue to mislead people with discredited and past policies I will make people fully aware of your willingness to do so and your willingness to mislead people for your political agenda.
"You have been warned."
Oh, really?
Let's go back to Michael Abberton, the "Green Party chap" mentioned a few paragraphs ago.
He and his meme first came to attention when it was revealed that the police had been sent to visit him after UKIP complained about an entry in his own blog, The Axe of Reason. He said he knew the image had been on Twitter for a while so he had set about seeing if its claims could be verified.
In his blog discussing the police visit, far from admitting he was quoting outdated policies, he states: "All I had done is promote the party policy using links to their own sources – no editorialising, no commenting. And in fairness highlighted those allegations I could find no evidence for."
Take a look at the date on the blog – May this year. "So outdated it's cringeworthy"?
Mr Abberton continued: "About fifteen minutes after they left I received a threatening tweet from a party member I had had an exchange with earlier in the day. Though appearing to be no more than a party supporter, he seemed to know that the police had been involved. I copied the tweet and sent it to the police."
So we have evidence that Kippers are willing to cause a nuisance with the police in order to silence critics who have divulged information that UKIP would rather keep quiet, and we have a Kipper who has denounced Yr Obdt Srvt as a liar (despite the evidence to the contrary) and who has "warned" that he will act against VP if the blog continues in its function, which is to provide accurate information, no matter what he asserts.
For further information on Vox Political's attitude to this kind of interference, see the Scriptonite blog on the same matter.
That is why he got this response: "They are not discredited policies. They are not past policies until they are replaced with something else.
"It is UKIP that is trying to mislead – the party's attempts to shut down its critics are a clear example of this.
"Don't think for a moment that you can threaten me. I'm fully aware that UKIP and its adherents like to throw their weight around and I am not impressed at all.
"Now you'd better get off my page before I have you slung out of Facebook for threatening behaviour."
There will be no tolerance of any UKIP member or representative who wants to threaten this blog, Mr Evans.
That is all.
Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike
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text:
Delayed by more than a week from its original schedule, Mount Washington Alpine Resort has announced it's officially opening for the season on Dec. 15.
The Whiskey Jack chair will whisk skiers and boarders three-quarters of the way up the mountain to — hopefully — three open runs including the blue that leads to the alpine lodge. The beginner area, Easy Acres, will be fully open. The tube park will also be ready on opening day.
"We're waiting on snow for the rest of it, but we're anticipating on being able to open more front-side terrain after a few systems hit us — which feels like it's happening right now," marketing manager Sheila Rivers said.
READ MORE: Mount Washington opening day delayed
Days before the original opening day of Dec. 7, the resort had only seen 10 cm of snow at the top of their runs. A minimum of three feet is usually required to open. By Dec. 14, the eve of the new opening day, there was 40 cm at the base after an overnight snowfall of 15 cm. And more snow is expected over the weekend.
"It's hard to gauge, but we're certainly expecting it to be busy," Rivers said.
Visitors will be the first to try the resort's new RFID technology for their gates and ticketing. The hands-free lift access — like tapping a debit card, Rivers said — eliminates ticket scanning and allows visitors to load up their tickets online. No more ticket lines required.
For the second year in a row, the resort is also offering their free Discovery Days packages. For people who have never skied or snowboarded before, anyone 13 years old and up can take advantage of their free lesson packages including free rentals and lift tickets.
Last year, the first Discovery Days drew 1,000 people to the mountain and converted 400 of them into season pass holders (the equivalent of at least 10 days of resort snow activities).
Discovery Days will be held from Dec. 15 to 21 for those who pre-register online at mountwashington.ca.
READ MORE: RFID access comes to Mt. Washington

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to our website
We are glad you stopped by. We hope this website will answer some of questions about our support group. Please feel free to contact us at anytime. >If you are looking for a REAL source of support we would love the opportunity to speak to you in person or email. Make sure to click on our contact page to view all the leaders who are ready to help.
Our Goal
Victim 2 Victor is currently the only support group, led by burn survivors, in North Carolina specifically for those affected by burn injury trauma. Its sole purpose is the education of those persons who have been affected by burn injury trauma. This group is for any of the following:
• burn victim
• spouse of burn victim
• relative of a burn victim
• friend(s) of burn victim
• caregivers: physicians, nurses, counselors, social workers, therapists
• rescue personnel, firemen
• teachers, classmates or others who have been traumatized by a burn event
Our Mission
It is the mission of Victim2Victor to provide for residents of North Carolina, who have been affected by a burn trauma, the resources necessary to move from the status of victim to that of victor. In addition to the burn survivor themselves, others may be victims of a burn trauma also. This group can include family members of the survivor, friends, co-workers, rescue personnel and care providers.


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Ardell Invisibands Luckies Lashes are short and sweet, providing that extra volume to make lashes look subtly fuller. These lashes feature an invisible, lightweight band that connects the hair strands to form a strip that ensures secure corners. They are knotted and feathered by hand for perfect uniformity, absolute comfort and an outstanding natural look.
These lashes are:
Lightweight Reusable Safe & sterile Easy to apply & Affordable!
How to Apply Ardell InvisiBands Luckies Black Lashes 1. Start by measuring your Luckies Lash to your eye. This can be done after you have put on your eye shadow. Go ahead and align your eyelash strip to your lash line to get a correct measure and to make sure the lash is not too long. Do this before applying eyeliner. 2. Next you will need to trim the excess lash if they are a bit too long for your natural lash line. trim off starting from the outer corner because the inner corners have smaller hairs that are meant to gradually fade in to longer hairs as you move toward the outer most part of the lash. This also helps achieve a more natural look. 3.In this next step you are going to add adhesive to the lash line. Run the glue over the band of your falsie. We recommend you to use a black adhesive. Duo Eyelash Adhesive dark works great because it dries black and blends in seamlessly with black eyeliner rather than using a clear adhesive. 4. Then wait a little bit for the glue to dry just a bit. Waiting for the adhesive to get just a little bit tacky will help get a strong bond. The best way is to hold the lashes with tweezers and lightly blow on the glue or fan the lash before applying it for five seconds (count one-one thousand, two-two thousand, etc.) This will help to instantly adhere to your eyelid skin and prevent it from sliding around on your lash line and making a mess before it actually starts to grip. 5. To apply your lashes. Grab you tweezers and position them in the middle of the falsie, and position the strip on to your lash line. Apply pressure using your fingers against the band, this will ensure that the falsie is tight against your natural lash line as much as possible. 6. Fuse your lashes together. Using your pointer finger and thumb, gently pinch your false lashes together with your natural lashes so that they blend nicely and help you achieve a more real and natural look. 7. Mascara ! You're almost done :) Go ahead and apply mascara over your lashes. this will help lock your false and natural lashes together and make them stand out a lot more and helps to get that positive attention. 8. To define your lash line with liquid or pencil eyeliner. This on top of helping define will also help blend in the dark glue as previously mentioned to help you achieve a seamless finish. And that's it! You're all done now. Feel free now to IG, Pin, Share and go, or tweet a picture with your new lashes and show off that sexy look :)
Works well with DUO Lash Adhesives (for strip lashes), Modlash Adhesives (for strip lashes), Ardell Lash Adhesives (for strip lashes), and Gypsy Strip Adhesive


text: Artist: E-40 f/ B-Legit Album: Tha Hall of Game Song: I Like What You Do to Me Typed by: OHHLA Webmaster DJ Flash [Steve Scales] Good things come to those who stays on they toes Don't you e-ver stop Al-ways keep it hot [Forty] Potnah this bubonic cuts, that other shit is high [Legit] Fuck what you talkin about, throw me that childproof lighter [Forty] Oh youse a smoker huh? Then go on and flame I heard you got some shit and heard it come from Spain [Legit] Naw, Amsterdam, I got it from the hemp man Bought the weed cause I love what it do to me Five o'clock in the traffic and I be fiendin Without the bomb nigga life has no meanin [E-40] Okay.. see I be krunkin(?) to profession in American-o(?) Cristal Brothers Brandy all down the throat Steady dippin call me Funk Master Flex Ass since mom and daddy had sex [B-Legit] Got yo' nigga daydreamin, smebbin in a check-U Floatin in a cloud, music up hella loud Proud to be in the land of the lights and the beer Got me where I ain't carin .. because I like what you doin to me .. because I like what you doin to me [E-40] It's like this and that to fuckin with your dick on hard And nigga ain't no Pebble Beach in my backyard Rackateerin, smearin, no foreseein Shit folks ain't even used to hearin [B-Legit] We break bread with the (?), thick ass bitch with the tits and the anus, off the English, how her body speak her own language And it's cool when she speakin to me I let the hoochie run through me [E-40] I seen him walkin in the rain I guess the nigga owe too much to the game They say the nigga used to drive a Mustang I'm thinkin potnah musta went against the grain like a lane [B-Legit] I cross artists? No not B-Legit Catch nine of the last ten in my clip Don't trip, a bitch can't do in me but I be likin what she doin to me .. because I like what you doin to me .. because I like what you doin to me [B-Legit] Just think, I used to have to flip cabbage And now I ride in a nine-seven whip Caddy Meal game, they call me by my stage name Hella G's when I spit this game [E-40] But just think, I used to sell them weights But now I'm all off into real estates, huh We put our city on the map, raise clientele Made it so niggaz can be proud to say they from Vallel' [B-Legit] (?)side - man I went to school with them Had him in my class, never thought the fool'd pass But now I took advantage of the opportunity and I love what it do to me [E-40] They say that I got cousins I ain't never met Think I'm big-headed, think I'm all that They say that I don't give to my community but I be likin what they doin to me .. because I like what you doin to me .. because I like what you doin to me [Steve Scales] - repeat 4X Good things come to those who stays on they toes Don't you e-ver stop Al-ways keep it hot


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US Angel Investors is an investment group of accredited private equity ("angel") investors across two chapters in Palo Alto, CA and Reno, NV, who provide counsel and capital to startup companies in a wide variety of industries. This group includes mostly former and current executives and entrepreneurs. US Angel Investors members look for high quality investment opportunities in technology, internet, new media, healthcare and medical devices, and packaged consumer goods. Other sectors with high growth opportunities will be considered on an opportunistic basis. We meet once a month, usually on the third Thursday in Palo Alto, CA and the fourth Thursday in Reno, NV. US Angel Investors works closely with Bay Area Startup Network (www.basn.org), a sister organization whose goal is to provide networking opportunities for early stage startups. Investor members invest individually: there is no fund controlled by US Angel Investors. Our Mission
US Angel Investors' mission is to provide a forum where serious active investors will be presented with a continuous flow of high quality deals. For high-quality startups we provide access to capital, counsel and networking resources.
Representatives portfolio companies
Alumni companies
Additionally here are some of the alumni companies that have received funding : Applied Microstructures, BeVocal, Collaborative Drug Discovery, Everclear LLC, Gloolabs, JamBase, Konaware, Kontera, Stingfree Technologies, Network Chemistry, Sentinel Vision, Spectralus, JobSight Solutions, Infoaxe, Ustream, RealityGap, Infobionics, Getwear, Convoy Technologies, Tourwrist, Apeliotus, etc.


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"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
If anarchism means anything, it is a rejection of the state, meaning, a rejection of an institution claiming and maintaining a monopoly on violence.
Of course, anarchists find themselves in the real world, in which such monopolies clearly exist. Some of the things states do we might even approve of, at least circumstantially. If an anarchist is being mugged, and a police officer comes by to stop the crime, the anarchist would likely accept the assistance. Perhaps he would rationalize it as merely accepting a service that he already pays for through taxes, which would exist in some form in anarchy; or perhaps because in that instance the police officer is not acting necessarily as a state agent, but rather as a good human being.
This can be a slippery slope, and I know some 'anarchists' who have slid right down to the bottom.
My friend, who calls himself an anarchist, is an unapologetic, wholesale supporter of the very statist War on Terrorism. There are other 'anarchists' who have bought into advocating what I consider the worst US government program in many, many years. I call these people anarcho-statists.
an'ar'cho'stat'ism n. The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished, but in the meantime those governments should go on doing what governments do, for the most part. (Modified from American Heritage Dictionary)
Now most anarcho-statists I know believe that taxation is theft; that the Drug War is bad; that government should not intrude in the businesses or private lives of people, disarm them, or otherwise push them around.
However, when it comes to extracting hundreds of billions of dollars from Americans to drop bombs on thousands of innocent people and occupy their land via martial law ' I guess government is just a necessary evil.
Actually, these anarcho-statists would claim that government is not necessary, but it is not always evil. Under anarchy, the market would provide for the dropping of bombs on thousands of innocent people, so until we have anarchy, the government will have to suffice.
This is the exact opposite of what I argue, especially when talking to leftists, when I say that atrocities such as Shock and Awe would never emerge in the free market, that wars might 'privitize' the benefits to certain corporations, but their existence depends on the socialization of costs through the coercive state.
But in anarchy ' both the antiwar statist and the pro-war 'anarchist' insist ' there would be warfare. The antiwar statist thinks such warfare would be bad, or even worse. The anarcho-statist thinks it would probably be better, more efficient, and more profitable ' but in the meantime, the government will have to suffice.
My anarcho-statist friend has come around to believing that virtually all US wars in the last 150 years were just ' the precise opposite of what I believe ' and that many of those wars would have occurred under anarchism. Sherman 's murderous March to the Sea simply emulated what abolitionists would have done under anarchy. (Of course, under anarchy, there would be no slaves.) US actions in World War II, including the terror bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, would have likely come about, albeit at a cheaper price, had it been left up to the free market.
If I believed in any of this, I would not be an anarchist or a fan of the free market. What's the point of being an anarchist when the worst things the US government has done throughout the last 200 years would have still been done by the private sector?
Indeed, I don't see how the pro-war 'anarchist' argument cannot apply to any other government program. A free market would provide charity. Why shouldn't the government do so until we have anarchy? A free market would regulate business and produce currency. Why not have the state carry out those functions as long as it's around?
Anarcho-statists might agree that taxation should not finance what they believe the government should do, but I can just as easily say I support government welfare: I only regret that taxes fund it.
One of the conceptual problems for these anarcho-statists is that they don't apply libertarian or other solid ethical principles to their conception of anarchy. If anarchy simply precludes a monopoly on aggressive violence, but aggressive violence is still largely accepted and condoned, a stateless society will not be anarchistic at all. I can imagine coercive institutions and protection rackets in an anarchy unguided by principles. If there were anarchy, but people still believed in institutionalized coercion, governments would simply reemerge. In fact, the Mafia is an example of a miniature government. Our efforts to sway the masses should be aimed at their belief systems, and in leading people to reject state aggression, we have to explain that it is because we reject aggression. (By aggression, I of course mean initiated violence, not defensive violence.)
As anarchists, we must not reject states only because they are called 'states,' but because what they are and what they do. In fact, I tend to believe a good way of looking at governments is to judge them not as governments, but simply as organizations of people. Take away the mysticism of the state, and all you see are huge, dangerous criminal gangs.
Perhaps the anarcho-statists think that the criminal gangs they believe would exist under anarchy, which would carry out their crazy wars, are permissible under anarchist standards, and so it is well within anarchist principles for the government to mimic the behavior of these hypothetical non-governmental gangs.
Perhaps this is true under the twisted definition of anarchy as chaos that we civil anarchists have been fighting for years. But simply opposing states because they are states is bad theory. It leads one to justifying the actions of agencies that are not called states, and takes one down the road of rationalizing the behavior of states because of their similarities to non-state states.
The best litmus test for the true anarchist, I believe, is determining whether a state or other entity is employing aggression. The police officer that stops a mugger from brutalizing an innocent person is hardly aggressing against anyone, and the taxes that support him really are beside the point in this case. Surely, people would help each other out in this manner even if there weren't states. It does not legitimize government police to say this, any more than it legitimizes government roads to drive on them. If there were no government roads or police, I would be the last to push for their creation, just as I would oppose any increase in the budget of any government program.
If a police officer came across Osama bin Laden and shot him in the head with a tax-funded bullet, it would not be a major assault on anarchistic or libertarian principles. If the principled anarchist feels bad thinking so, he should send the money for the bullet himself.
Statism is not essential to stopping a mugger or shooting a bad guy ' in fact it's a very rare exception for the state to do such a thing. Statism is essential to war, however, or at least all the wars the US government has ever engaged in.
The War on Terrorism, needless to say, fails my litmus test miserably. Thousands of innocent people have been murdered. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been extracted by force. Iraq is now a country burdened not only by the aggression of the US government, but also by the aggression of the puppet government put in place by the US .
How anyone can believe that libertarianism, free markets, or anarchy have anything to do with the forceful creation of one government by another, at the cost of so many lives, so much stolen money, and so many freedoms, is totally beyond my comprehension.


text:
It was inevitable. Last year's decline in the NASDAQ composite index brought a sudden halt to a heady—some would say reckless—time for investors and acquisition-minded companies, particularly those focused on anything and everything connected with the Internet. Predictably, this slump has now sent the pendulum swinging in the other direction: many investors are staying away from the sector entirely, and established brick-and-mortar companies are scaling back their on-line initiatives. The survival of even leading Internet firms is being questioned.
The Internet roller coaster may rank as the market's most dramatic upheaval over the past 20 years,1 but it certainly hasn't been the only one. Remember biotech? Real estate? Leveraged buyouts? What about Japan Incorporated? Each fad was accompanied by the conviction among market bulls that—somehow, this time—classical notions of value creation, such as approaches that emphasized a company's cash flow, were hopelessly out of touch with the new vision of investing. In fact, investment values always eventually revert to a fundamental level based on cash flows.
Although investors and companies can no longer throw money at every dot-com idea, they shouldn't abandon the Internet. As they ponder the reality of a greatly reduced NASDAQ, they should cast a gimlet eye on the real sources of the sector's value. Such an analysis, together with an understanding of the basic principles of value creation, will generate new insights into the potential value of Internet opportunities.
Cash flow is king
In an earlier article on valuing dot-coms, several colleagues and I argued that solid investment analysis has never really been about shorthand metrics such as price-to-earnings multiples or multiples of revenue or traffic.2 These approaches, in vogue during the Internet boom, do not consider a company's particular characteristics, nor do they account for the way investments in intangible assets (such as the cost of acquiring customers) flow through the income statement rather than the balance sheet.
Our approach involved applying a long-term discounted-cash-flow (DCF) analysis supplemented by three twists. First, instead of starting with the current level of performance—the usual practice in DCF valuations—start by thinking about what the industry and the company would look like in a state of sustainable, moderate growth, and then work that estimate back to current performance. For Internet businesses, this plateau of economic stability is probably at least a decade away.
Second, instead of a single forecast, use probability-weighted scenarios of future performance—an approach that can help highlight the inherent uncertainty in valuing high-growth technology companies. These scenarios should include extreme outcomes, such as very high returns and, conversely, bankruptcy. Finally, use tools such as customer value analysis to understand more fully how value is actually created.
Spotting the value creators
The development of a fundamental economic perspective for analyzing companies with no profits and negative cash flows must begin with a focus on the way companies create value. The ultimate drivers of value creation are the potential revenue of a company and its ability to convert that revenue into cash flow for shareholders—an ability best measured by its long-term return on invested capital. People who are looking for real value in an Internet sector that has fallen down to Earth can begin by asking three questions.
How will the company generate revenue?
Getting money from customers is an obvious place to start—right? Yet only a short time ago, investors were buying companies without a clear sense of how they would generate such revenue. The fact is that most of the ways of generating it have already been unearthed. In the business-to-consumer (B2C) market, companies can sell physical products, services, information, entertainment, and financial products; earn revenue from advertising; and collect fees for facilitating transactions. In short, B2C companies must collect their revenue either from consumers or from other businesses that use their sites to reach consumers. Sources of revenue are similar in the business-to-business (B2B) market.
Be cautious about business models based on future revenue for anything that people wouldn't pay for today. America Online managed to build its business on membership fees from the start by offering consumers something they were willing to buy. Yet too many so-called lifestyle sites first aim to build a user base and then try to figure out how to generate revenue from sources beyond mere advertising. Similarly, Internet banks that use low prices and little else to lure customers could well see cost-sensitive ones go elsewhere when prices rise.
What will be the average return on capital once the industry matures?
In the Internet world, it is too often assumed that successful companies will earn very high returns on their fixed assets and working capital—perhaps 20 percent or more after taxes—because they rely on intangible rather than tangible assets or because network effects create effective monopolies.
This blanket assumption is dangerous. Industries earn high returns on capital if their products, such as patented pharmaceuticals, are nonsubstitutable and legally protected; if branding is important and consumers are indifferent to price; and if a product, such as Microsoft's Windows operating system, becomes more valuable to customers as more people use it.
One reason to be skeptical about claims that Internet companies will earn high returns is that intangibles don't necessarily earn them; the industry structure does. Consider investment banking and movie production, two industries with lots of intangible capital. In both, most of the value goes to the talent—bankers, actors, and directors—not to the shareholders.
Few industries in the Internet world have the structural characteristics needed for high returns on capital. One exception may be those B2C and B2B marketplaces whose customers will naturally gravitate to the biggest site, thus creating a winner-takes-all opportunity for high returns. But most B2C and B2B marketplaces will earn returns that are close to or only marginally above their cost of capital. Internet retailing, for example, doesn't exhibit any of the traits associated with high returns. Products are substitutable, and consumers are sensitive to prices: they may, for example, seek information at one World Wide Web site but shop at another or off-line. (My wife loved the eToys site, but once she found a product she would often buy it elsewhere; eToys is now closing down.) A similar logic applies to on-line financial-services and entertainment sites.
How big is the relevant market?
Most analysts focus on the size of a market, but these estimates can be inflated or even irrelevant. Many Internet companies, for example, rely on advertising for revenue, but it is fairly certain that ad expenditures will be a relatively small part of the total economy, though they might rise somewhat over time.
Be wary, too, of the way companies assess the size of the relevant market or even measure their own revenue. In airline travel services, for example, the relevant market isn't the entire revenue of the airlines but rather the much smaller fees that they pay to on- or off-line agents.
Finally, ask yourself if the management, technology, brand, and head start of a company will allow it to beat the industry average. Keep in mind that few companies do so for long.
This fundamental approach to valuation is by no means a panacea. For starters, it won't eliminate uncertainty. Continual innovation and an inability to predict consumer behavior will ensure that volatility and risk remain important parts of the dot-com landscape. Yet investors and companies following these principles will at least be asking the right questions. They will have a better chance of success than they would if they simply followed the herd.


text:
Geekswithblogs.net, founded in 2003, had a very long run. The future of the site is now back in the hands of the original founder, Jeff Julian, and that is why you are here at Julian Farms or my consulting firm, Squared Digital.
What's next? Glad you asked. I still believe there is a place for blogs in this digital era of the 2020s, but I don't believe I have a full picture of what it should look like. We have Github, LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, and many other ways to share content, but something is missing. Also, the word Community does not mean the same thing it did when I launched Geekswithblogs. Everything is about profits and pushing products through Content Marketing efforts like blogging, and I don't feel the authenticity blogging once had is as easy to detect.
The last thing I want to do is launch a site where non-developers are writing posts trying to get developers to try or buy a product. Microsoft is doing that with all their developer channels these days. No, I want real developers sharing real examples and solving real problems. Not to get a bunch of "points" or "credits" like the other sites to gamify the experience. Instead, to help the Community and make life-long friendships as we had in the first decade of Geekswithblogs.net.
So, for now, this will be a placeholder for Geekswithblogs.net. If you need a specific article from the site, check out the Wayback Machine to find it in the archives.


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Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)
- Description
- The southern leopard frog grows to a length of 2 to 3.5 inches (about 5 to 9 cm). Its color varies from tan to several shades of brown to green. The dorsum (back) is usually covered with irregular dark brown spots between distinct light colored areas. Large dark spots on its legs may create the effect of bands. Other distinguishing characteristics include a light line along its upper jaw, light spot on its tympanum (ear), and long hind legs and toes. It is slender, with a narrow, pointed head. Males are smaller than females, but with enlarged forearms and thumbs and paired vocal sacs that look like balloons when inflated.
- Life History
Southern leopard frogs are very adaptable and are comfortable in many habitats - they just need cover and moisture. These frogs are great jumpers, traveling high and far in just a few jumps. They consume insects and small invertebrates. Predators such as fish, raccoons, skunks and aquatic snakes feed on the leopard frog. It reaches sexual maturity in the first spring after hatching. In Texas, breeding takes place year round depending on temperature and moisture. Several hundred eggs are laid in a cluster just below the water's surface. Tadpoles hatch in about seven to ten days. Newly hatched tadpoles are only about 20 to 25 mm long. They grow to 65 to 70 mm before metamorphosing into frogs, generally between 60 to 90 days. Southern leopard frogs have a lifespan of 3 years.
Southern leopard frogs elude predators by jumping into nearby water and swimming underwater for some distance, while the predator continues looking near the point of entry into the water. They are primarily nocturnal, hiding during the day in vegetation at the water's edge. During wet months, a leopard frog may wander some distance from water, but stays in moist vegetation. They will sometimes wander to colonize.
The mating call is a series of abrupt, deep croaks, creating a guttural trill. The trill rate may be as many as 13 per second. Males call from shore or while floating in shallow water. A leopard frog's mottled coloration helps camouflage it. Southern leopard frogs are often used for teaching dissecting in science classes.
- Habitat
- Shallow freshwater areas are preferred habitat for the southern leopard frog, but they may be seen some distance from water if there is enough vegetation and moisture to provide protection. Southern leopard frogs are also able to live in brackish marshes along the coast.
- Distribution
- Southern leopard frogs range throughout the eastern United States, from New Jersey east as far as Nebraska and Oklahoma and south into the eastern third of Texas.
- Other
- The name of the genus comes from the Latin rana (frog). The species name combines the Greek words sphenos (wedgeshaped) and kephale (head) to describe its triangular head. The mating calls of southern leopard frogs are a familiar background sound to many Texans living near ponds, streams and wetlands. To obtain a tape of the calls of frogs and toads of Texas, contact Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Wildlife Diversity Branch, 512-912-7011.


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man pages section 4: File Formats Oracle Solaris 10 8/11 Information Library |
- device instance number file
/etc/path_to_inst records mappings of physical device names to instance numbers.
The instance number of a device is encoded in its minor number, and is the way that a device driver determines which of the possible devices that it may drive is referred to by a given special file.
In order to keep instance numbers persistent across reboots, the system records them in /etc/path_to_inst.
This file is read only at boot time, and is updated by add_drv(1M) and devfsadm(1M).
Note that it is generally not necessary for the system administrator to change this file, as the system will maintain it.
The system administrator can change the assignment of instance numbers by editing this file and doing a reconfiguration reboot. However, any changes made in this file will be lost if add_drv(1M) or devfsadm(1M) is run before the system is rebooted.
Each instance entry is a single line of the form:
"physical name" instance number "driver binding name"
is the absolute physical pathname of a device. This pathname must be enclosed in double quotes.
is a decimal or hexadecimal number.
is the name used to determine the driver for the device. This name may be a driver alias or a driver name. The driver binding name must be enclosed in double quotes.
Example 1 Sample path_to_inst Entries
Here are some sample path_to_inst entries:
"/iommu@f,e0000000" 0 "iommu" "/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000" 0 "sbus" "/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/sbusmem@e,0" 14 "sbusmem" "/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/sbusmem@f,0" 15 "sbusmem" "/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/ledma@f,400010" 0 "ledma" "/obio/serial@0,100000" 0 "zs" "/SUNW,sx@f,80000000" 0 "SUNW,sx"
Mapping of physical device names to instance numbers.
add_drv(1M), boot(1M), devfsadm(1M), mknod(1M)
If the file is removed the system may not be bootable (as it may rely on information found in this file to find the root, usr or swap device). If it does successfully boot, it will regenerate the file, but after rebooting devices may end up having different minor numbers than they did before, and special files created via mknod(1M) may refer to different devices than expected.
For the same reasons, changes should not be made to this file without careful consideration.
This document does not constitute an API. path_to_inst may not exist or may have a different content or interpretation in a future release. The existence of this notice does not imply that any other documentation that lacks this notice constitutes an API.


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Bowl 509: D3+25 Himalayan Singing Bowl 149 HZ
Bowl 508: F#3-28 Himalayan Singing Bowl 182 HZ
Size 10.25
Weight 2242 g
All our our Himalayan singing bowls bowls are guaranteed to play easily. When we shop for our bowls, we hand pick each one, rejecting many beautiful looking bowls because they don't play or sing well.
Different tones can be produced with different mallets. Each bowl comes with a rubber mat and a wooden and suede mallet. If you wish to produce the deep tones, we suggest you purchase a Red Felt Mallet. For softer high tones we suggest the tiny mallet. These are available in the accessories section of the Himalayan Collection.
You can sing your bowl in your hand, on your body or on table. When played on a table you should put your bowl on a rubber ring, rubber mat or one of our handmade Nepal cotton buckwheat pads. Your bowl comes with he rubber mat and the rubber ring. The buckwheat pads are available in the accessories section of the Himalayan Collection
If you are overwhelmed with trying to pick a Himalayan singing bowl, just give us a call. We would be happy to help you out.
How can I tell if this is a good bowl?
There are three kinds of Himalayan singing bowls out there. Cheap bowls, good bowls and excellent but very expensive bowls. We are proud to say we sell the good ones. Here is why.
Cheap bowls: Not sold here! Cheap bowls need to be tapped first to make them sing. That is the only way to get them to sing. Some sellers will say "It is waiting for the person with the right energy".... Nope, it is just a cheap bowl that doesn't like to sing. If you know the right technique to get a metal bowl to sing and the bowl won't sing for you, then it is just a cheap bowl. It is great as a bell, but needs coaxing to sing which can be very frustrating when trying to meditate. Sadly, there are many of these bowls on the market.
Good bowls: That's what we have! Imagine you are about to start a meditation. You pick up your beautiful Himalayan singing bowl and you rub the mallet around the outside and... it sings! It sings a beautiful rich tone with warm overtones that helps guide you into relaxation and meditation. Yup! That is what we sell. We hand pick each of our Himalayan singing bowls, making sure they sing easily and a beautiful sound is created with very little effort. They can have 5-7 overtones. These bowls are priced reasonably for the average person to purchase.
Excellent bowls are very hard to find and are super expensive. We have been told that about only 1-2% of all the Himalayan singing bowls fall into this category. They are super rich in overtones, barely need to be touched to sing, but are very expensive. If you are searching for an expensive, one of a kind bowl, let us know and we will see if we can help you find one.
Our Guarantee
We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase.
If for some reason you are not happy, please call us. We want you to love what you buy, and we are happy to work with you to find the perfect item.
If you want to return or exchange an item, you have 15 days from date of arrival to return it. Shipping is at your expense. It must arrive to us in the same condition as when it was shipped out. Once we have received your returned item, and have inspected it, we will issue a full refund.
Shipping Costs
We offer free shipping to all locations in Canada.
Discounted shipping rates are offered to our customers in the USA. Please call for shipping to other countries.
Shipping to USA Addresses
5" to 8" Bowl - $15 Can (USA Address)
9" to 10" Bowl - $20 Can (USA Address)
11" to12" Bowl - $25 Can (USA Address)


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What's a Bronchodilator?
en español: Broncodilatador
Say: brong-ko-DY-lay-ter
A person with asthma may need to take a medicine called a bronchodilator. This type of medicine dilates (a fancy word for opens) the airways, or bronchial tubes. This usually means using an inhaler, which is a plastic tube that holds a container of medicine. You may have seen a friend or someone in school using an inhaler, which is held up to the mouth and breathed into the lungs.


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In early January, I wrote about Deborah Abramson Brooks and Allison White, two Port Washington moms who had looked into the New York State Education Department's (NYSED) plans to turn over the names and records of more than two million public school students to an outfit called inBloom. This Atlanta-based company, underwritten by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working with state governments to get data on every American student to store, crunch, and potentially share with all sorts of other companies. As I said when I introduced Deborah and Allison, inBloom wants to make our kids' educational careers — and basically their lives — so much spreadsheet fodder.
Of all the states, New York has been the most enthusiastic about inBloom. Despite last week's recommendation by a governor-appointed panel that we pull out of the program, it's definitely not over. A recommendation is just that.
This is a complicated issue that's not easily explained in sound bites. Which is precisely why inBloom has been able to get this far. But Deborah and Allison believe that privacy and parental consent are too important to be compromised. So they wrote a petition that they posted on line and have continued to fight the Good Fight.
Here's an update from them on what's been happening since January:
The NYSED's preoccupation with statewide data collection and data-mining remains alive and well. To the dismay of many citizens, NYSED is proceeding full-steam ahead with the uploading, into the cloud, of 400 data points — including otherwise-confidential health records, discipline records, special-needs records, family socio-economic information and other sensitive information — on every public school child in New York State, and all without informed parental consent. As we all have seen, privacy concerns aside, there is no guarantee this data can be protected from hackers.
It's those concerns that led us to author the Children's Data Protection and Privacy petition. It's clear we're not alone in our concerns, as the issue gains attention and traction here in New York, and throughout the country.
So far, the petition has garnered close to 5,400 signatures, and our work has gone viral, featured on blogs of education leaders such as Diane Ravitch and Leonie Haimson. Our messge has reached tens of thousands of parents and taxpayers around the country.
We're gratified to see many more parents question the need for their children's (and their own) confidential and sensitive information to be collected and stored beyond the school district level, and certainly not without informed partental consent.
Nevertheless, according to recent testimony by Ken Wagner, NYSED's Deputy Commissioner for Curriculum, Assessment and Educational Technology, at a hearing before the State Assembly's Education Committee, all data to which NYSED currently has access has already been uploaded to inBloom — without informed parental consent — for development and test purposes. And, there is no plan to stop.
This is an outrage.
We attended that hearing in Manhattan, and as we sat there, we felt we were bearing witness for other parents who could not be there, and that it was important for the Assembly members to see our faces and be reminded that these "data points" are real children with real parents. With all the political jockeying between the Governor, Assembly, Senate, NYSED and Regents, along with the partisan politics, it is the children who are forgotten.
Allison also submitted written testimony that will become part of the public record from the hearing.
Fortunately, states throughout the country are working to enact strict privacy laws to protect our children's data and school records. We (and many others) are doing our best to convince our legislators here in New York to do the same. Last week, Allison went to Albany, petition in hand, to speak to legislators to make sure they knew that thousands of New Yorkers share our concerns about inBloom and other third-party vendors. Allison presented the petition to the Governor's office, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senator John Flanagan, chair of the Senate's Education Committee, got it, too. Many others in our state legislature know about the petition and are following it. Clearly, all of our government officials in Albany are now aware of the issue.
While we continue our fight on the state level, we also are in contact with federal legislators regarding strengthening federal privacy laws vis-a-vis privacy rights for children.
The link to our petition is http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-new-york-state.
Signing it is one way that every parent, grandparent, neighbor, student and taxpayer in New York and beyond can help protect our children from the NYSED's wild data-collection and data-mining scheme.
Deborah and Allison are absolutely right. The lesson? Pity the fools who mess with our kids.
John Owens is editor in chief of Anton Community Newspapers. Email: email@example.com


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Problems for Which Forfeiture is a Remedy
Asset forfeiture is not limited to drug enforcement. It can be used to target a wide range of crime-related phenomena.66 This section briefly reviews asset forfeiture laws that target illegal drug markets and those that target profits from other types of criminal activity. These are some of the most promising areas in which law enforcement officials can pursue asset forfeiture.
Illegal Drug Markets
The 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act provided for the forfeiture of property used in connection with controlled substances. Since then various federal statutes have been enacted and extended the reach of asset forfeiture.67 This legislative progression has made forfeiture a viable enforcement option for a wide variety of drug-related offenses.
In terms of specific drug-related problems, forfeiture has been used in response to everything from drug dealing at apartment complexes§ to the operation of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.§§ Officials must take care, however, to ensure the property targeted for forfeiture is sufficiently valuable in relation to the time and effort required to execute a well-planned bust.
§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 4, Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes.
§§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 16, Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs, 2nd Edition.
Nuisance Properties
Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia's Neighborhood Fresh Start is an example of law enforcement officials' use of state forfeiture laws to target nuisance properties.68 Prosecutors target houses plagued with drug activity for at least two years. Ideally, the house has had at least five arrests for drug-related activity or two previous search warrant incidents in which drugs were found. They weigh the value of the house against the amount of drugs and contraband seized—mainly due to Eighth Amendment concerns. The chief of police then sends the owner a cease-and-desist letter. The letter is followed by additional surveillance, undercover drug buys, and enforcement. If the activity continues, forfeiture is pursued. In a successful forfeiture, ownership of the house is transferred to the state and the district attorney, and the county moves a police officer into the home. The officer pays a nominal amount of rent and serves as a community resource officer, working only the beat in which the house is located. After the officer lives in the house for a year, the county works with the United Way and other charitable organizations to move a low-income family into the home.
Another class of nuisance properties includes so-called "budget motels."§ In some communities, these properties are responsible for a disproportionate number of calls for service. Because these motels offer cheap accommodations, usually accept cash, do not take many steps to limit certain types of clientele who frequent the premises, and tend to be located in already crime-prone areas, it is no surprise that problems occur. Prostitution, drug dealing, loud parties, and other activities seem to happen frequently. The usual strategies of patrolling the properties and arresting offenders may not be as effective as targeting the assets of owners who turn the proverbial "blind eye" to problems at their motels. Several jurisdictions have used state nuisance laws to forfeit such properties. In many cases, however, the mere threat of forfeiture encourages property owners to take steps toward cleaning up and otherwise improving their properties.
§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 30, Disorder at Budget Motels.
Street Racing§
In response to a surge in illegal street racing fatalities on city streets, San Diego enacted the nation's first anti-street racing forfeiture ordinance.§§ In general, the law provides for forfeiture of vehicles used in illegal speed contests. Before forfeiture is pursued, however, law enforcement must confirm that the person whose vehicle is targeted has a previous Vehicle Code conviction. Despite this additional restriction, research suggests the ordinance has reduced the street racing problem in San Diego. In particular, an evaluation of the program revealed that the ordinance did more to reduce the street racing problems than other law enforcement activities (such as increased arrests and prosecutions for Vehicle Code violations), negative press coverage of street racing, and sanctioned races at a local stadium on weekends.69
§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 28, Street Racing.
§§ "...a motor vehicle shall be declared a nuisance and forfeited subject to this division if[i]t is used in violation of California Vehicle Code §§ 23109(a) or (c); andit is being driven by the registered owner of the vehicle, the registered owner is a passenger, the registered owner's immediate family members is driving or riding in the car, or the driver or passenger lives at the same address as the registered owner" (San Diego Municipal Code, Chapter 5, Article 2, Division 52.5301).
Drunk Driving§§§
The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, enacted in 199870, requires that state laws contain provisions for seizure and/or forfeiture of the vehicles used by repeat drunk driving offenders. States that fail to do so risk losing federal funding. Although most of the laws provide for temporary impoundment, such as in an impound lot, some provide for permanent forfeiture of the vehicles. No matter the means of depriving repeat drunk drivers of their vehicles, researchers have found that such statutes result in considerable deterrent effects. For example, an Ohio study found that the reduction in DWI offenses for first-time offenders was 80 percent during the impound period, followed by 56 percent after.71 Similar results were reported in California72 and Portland, Oregon, evaluations.73
§§§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 36, Drunk Driving.
New York City's Vehicle Forfeiture Initiative74 is perhaps the most punitive in the United States. It provides for forfeiture for first-time offenders. Since 1999, the ordinance has been used to forfeit more than 6,500 vehicles, leading some to conclude that it "has saved many lives by encouraging people to refrain from drinking and driving."75 Critics, though, feel the prospect of forfeiture following a first-time offense is excessive: "The policy is an obvious attempt to punish, and it operates by subjecting the automobiles of DWI offenders to forfeiture regardless of their value or the harm that the offender caused."76
Drivers with Revoked Licenses
Forfeiture laws have been expanded to cover vehicles driven by those with revoked licenses. For example, California's Vehicle Code77 provides that "a motor vehicle is subject to forfeiture as a nuisance if it is driven on a highway in this state by a driver with a suspended or revoked license, or by an unlicensed driver, who is a registered owner of the vehicle and has a previous misdemeanor conviction…" under one of several other related Vehicle Code provisions.
Researchers have been hesitant to claim that forfeiture laws such as those in California are effective.78 Why? The explanation one team of researchers offered is that officials in California readily use the state's temporary impoundment provision (for first-time offenders) much more often than they use the forfeiture provision. The researchers found two reasons for this: there is little support of forfeiture from district attorneys and the costs of moving forward with forfeiture actions often exceeded the value of the vehicles targeted.79
Prostitution is a significant problem for many jurisdictions. A wide range of enforcement options are available: intensive enforcement, banning prostitutes from certain areas, imposing curfews, manipulating the physical environment, offering services to prostitutes, and, of course, targeting the "johns" and their property.§ Portland, Oregon, is credited with being among the more aggressive jurisdictions when it comes to targeting the property—particularly the vehicles—of prostitution clients. The vehicles are often seized up front, but many are returned to prostitution clients who submit to deferred prosecution arrangements. The prospect of losing one's mode of transportation has apparently resulted in low recidivism rates.80
§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 2, Street Prostitution, 2nd Edition.
Free Bound Copies of the Problem Guides
You may order free bound copies in any of three ways:
Online: Department of Justice COPS Response Center
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480
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Asset Forfeiture
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An Exquisite Hour with Anne Sofie von Otter
Grieg, Songs, A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg [REVIEW] Sibelius, Songs, A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg Swedish Songs (Peterson-Berger, Stenhammar, von Koch), A. S. von Otter, B. Forsberg |
One part of the evening's success was the choice of music, full of contrast and range in many courses, like the best meals. The opening pairing, of two songs by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942), was a case in point: the sweeping, epic Intet är som väntanstider (Nothing is like waiting time, from Fridolin's Songs), with Forsberg swooping and swelling on the broad piano part, followed by the dreamy ballad Som stjärnorna på himmelen (Like the stars in the sky -- all singers, go look this song up now, from the Four Songs in Swedish Folktone, op. 5/3), a delicate pastry of delicious consonants and vowels, with Forsberg in both cases knowing just how much sound to provide to support his singer. That Peterson-Berger wrote the opera Arnljot (considered the Swedish national opera, according to the program notes) and was a fierce newspaper critic was icing on the cake. The whole Swedish set -- no "titans," as von Otter put it, but all worth discovering (see her CD of Swedish songs to do just that) -- was like this, with pairings devoted to Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) -- the chromatically enticing In the Maple's Shade a stand-out -- and Sigurd von Koch (1879-1919), whose Debussy-misty Spring Night's Rain and equally wild, thrashing The Wild Swans were both thrilling.
A set of Sibelius songs, also set to Swedish poetry, was almost a let-down after that, with the exception of the gloomy, surprising My Bird Is Long in Homing, quickly surpassed by the Grieg pairing -- the stately and tender Våren (Spring) and the swaggering lover's boast of Midsummer Eve. The strength of the Nordic half was not the size or volume of von Otter's voice, which could be full and radiant but also elegant and contained, but the delectation of the poetry, like the experience of bathing in Ibsen's Norwegian last week. After spending intermission wishing von Otter would stick to these Nordic songs, it was a welcome surprise to be equally taken by her French diction and way with artless simplicity in French songs, especially Reynaldo Hahn's setting of Paul Verlaine's L'Heure Exquise standing out in a generally fine Hahn set. In the same vein of vaguely perverse sensuality was Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis, with Forsberg's hands providing corrupt pastel wisps of sound behind the evocative melody presented with understated eloquence by von Otter.
Anne Midgette, Anne Sofie von Otter, accompanist Bengt Forsberg beguile with their easy style (Washington Post, March 6) |
Anne Sofie von Otter remains in Washington this week, with some rare Nordic weather nicely planned for her, because she will also sing a set of Schubert songs, in some interesting orchestrations, with the National Symphony Orchestra (March 7 to 9).


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Muslim Cleric Accused to Framing Christian Girl of Blasphemy is Freed By Pakistan Court Amid Witness Death Threat Rumors
A Pakistani Court has acquitted a Muslim cleric accused of framing a mentally-challenged Christian girl of violating the country's blasphemy laws. Cleric, Khalid Jadoon, was freed after six of eight eyewitnesses, who had testified to seeing him plant evidence on the girl, suddenly retracted their statements.
Last August, teenager Rimsha Masih was arrested for breaking Pakistan's blasphemy laws, after she was accused of burning pages of the Quran. As international criticism grew over her arrest, evidence mounted that Jadoon had deliberately inserted pages of the Quran into the fire himself so that he could accuse the Christian girl of blasphemy and use the charge as a pretext to drive out Christians from the area.
Masih was ultimately acquitted of blasphemy chargers in November, but her family was forced to take asylum in Canada in March.
Masih's attorney, Tahir Naveed, had anticipated an acquittal for the cleric, citing ineffective policing as well as the volatile religious and political climate.
"The court freed Jadoon because the police failed to assure the witnesses that they would not be harmed," Naveed told Morning Star News. "Moreover, the trial court judges are also under immense pressure when hearing blasphemy cases."
While witnesses attributed their original statements on police "coercion," Christian rights activist Allama Tahir Ashrafi argued that after the government had refused to ensure them protection, witnesses had acted out of fear.
"Three days before the witnesses retracted their statements, an extremist group supporting Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of former Punjab Gov. Salmaan Taseer, held a rally in Rawalpindi wherein they publicly issued life threats to the witnesses in Rimsha case," Ashrafi told Morning Star News. "I believe that the police and administration are equally responsible for poor prosecution in the case."
The court announced its decision just days after Pakistani civil society groups and human rights organizations took to the streets for a "day of mourning" to call for an end to anti-blasphemy laws in the country, which according to the Pakistan Christian Post, often serve as justifications for intimidation, violence and terror.
"An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, attacks and extra judicial killing. An accusation is sometimes the prelude to vigilantism and rioting as it happened in Gojra and Lahore. Those who are accused of blasphemy including their family members have to face many hardships and to move from one place to other for their safety of lives and this is not for years rather it is for whole life," it said.
Despite minority anger toward blasphemy laws, Pakistanis who support the law have create a chilling climate for those who would speak out against them. Politicians Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, who used their platforms to speak out against blasphemy laws, were both assassinated in 2011.
"During Rimsha's case, the Islamabad High Court ruled that misuse of the blasphemy laws had brought a bad name to Pakistan and Islam," said Ashrafi. "I ask that if Rimsha was innocent and now Jadoon has also been acquitted of the charge, who are the real faces behind this case? Shouldn't the trial court judge have asked police to unveil the perpetrators of the case? The fact is that everyone fears the extremist forces and are not ready to counter them."


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Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr
Source: Elvis Australia
January 6, 2019
Sammy Davis Jr. imitating Elvis on stage performing Hound Dog, February 27, 1958.
Of Elvis, Sammy said, 'Early on somebody told me that Elvis was black. And I said 'No, he's white but he's down-home'. And that is what it's all about. Not being black or white it's being 'down-home' and which part of down-home you come from' ... 'I have a respect for Elvis and my friendship. It ain't my business what he did in private. The only thing I want to know is, 'Was he my friend?', 'Did I enjoy him as a performer?', 'Did he give the world of entertainment something?' - and the answer is YES on all accounts.
The other jazz just don't matter' ... 'On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Elvis eleven'.
Sammy Davis Jr. was a multi talented, versatile and dynamic singer, dancer and actor who overcame extraordinary obstacles to become a leading American entertainer. Elvis gave Sammy a gift of a black sapphire ring and told him, 'This is the biggest black star I've seen, so I'm giving it to the biggest black star I know'. Sammy was a regular at many of Elvis Presley's concerts in Las Vegas.
Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr, King Creole set. Photo from the King Creole : Frame By Frame : Deluxe 400 page Hardcover book.
Below From Interview with Jerry Schilling by Ken Sharp:
Share your memories of watching Chuck Berry play a 3 a.m. show in Vegas with Elvis.
Jerry Schilling: Elvis and Priscilla and myself and my wife, Sandy, went to see Sammy Davis Jr. This was back in the '70s. We went to see Sammy, and then we went backstage and hung out with Sammy and his wife, Altovise. Sammy and Elvis were kind of magic together. Sammy had that great personality, and he kept Elvis laughing. It was after the late show, and Elvis said, 'Would you guys like to come over to our hotel up to the suite?' We all go in the car and go back to The Hilton, and as we're walking through the lobby going to the elevators, we heard a very a familiar Chuck Berry intro. And Sammy and Elvis just looked at each other and with a smile, we all just turned around without anything being said, and we headed for the lounge.
There was one table of people, maybe two. The whole lounge was about empty. We went down to a booth in front, and Elvis was a fun guy. He would holler out a tune. Chuck saw that it was Elvis and said, 'Hey Elvis, remember when we were battling for #1, and you had this song, and I had the other song?' The real payoff was when Elvis said, 'Do 'Promised Land!' And he's sitting with Sammy Davis Jr., and they're singing the lines along with Chuck about a poor boy wanting to go clean through Mississippi.
Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr, Las Vegas Hilton, 1970.
Below From Interview with Altovise Gore Davis 26/06/2001
Sammy was one of the few celebrity friends that Elvis Presley had. What did that mean to Sammy and do you recall any anecdotes about their friendship?
In Las Vegas Sammy was down one hotel and Elvis was at another. I went to see both of them. I was at Elvis' and Sammy came over. You know Sammy always did an impersonation of him.
Sammy did Elvis and then Elvis did Sammy. We just stayed back stage for about an hour or two and it was wonderful just seeing them together. And it was more than one time.
I think their friendship meant a lot to both of them and also whilst we were living in Beverly Hills, we lived across the street from one of the gentlemen that was his security guard. I think it meant a bond to them, as men. You know men have bonds like ladies sometimes have girlfriends. I think it was a very personal bond between both of them that they could both share because they both came from very humble beginnings.
Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr, Las Vegas Hilton, 1970.
Elvis Presley and Racism : The Ultimate, Definitive Guide
Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali
Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali : Two Sides of the Same Coin
Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley
Lionel Rose and Elvis Presley
Elvis' musical style, as a musician and impact as a vocalist and stage performer
Ernest Withers : Eye on Elvis : Camera Captured Pictures Of Early Elvis
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No part of any article on this site may be re-printed for public display without permission.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.


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"The Least Junked Car": The 1966 Plymouth Belvedere
Internet Love For A Beloved B-Body
Is the 1966 Plymouth Belvedere the "least junked car in America"? That's what a story from www.LACar.com ("Car Culture Ground Zero") said, when it hit the internet recently.
Here's the story, courtesy of LACar.com: www.lacar.com/?p=15890
Let's take a body style-by-body style look at that midsized Plymouth line's popularity, a line that—like its Dodge counterparts—had a major styling overhaul for 1966, with Elwood Engle-era slab sides, tall greenhouses and angular body lines like the ones that graced the all-new full-sized '65 C-Body Mopars, and would also be seen on the updated A-Body compacts for '67.
2-door hardtop: Thanks to Richard Petty's win in that year's Daytona 500, the newly-restyled midsize Plymouth hardtop got a lot of exposure—and continued getting it with the success of Richard and other Plymouth drivers (especially Paul Goldsmith and Jim Hurtubise) in NASCAR's top division that year. Add in the success of USAC stock car drivers like Norm Nelson (who won eight races in '66, en route to that series' season championship), and the Belvedere hardtop was seen—in race trim—in plenty of newspaper and magazine post-race reports, and Plymouth print ads, that ran through that summer.
What's not to like about them? An engine lineup that ranged from the reliable and economical 225 Slant Six, through the 318 Poly (making its last appearance that year), to the low-deck 361 and 383-inch B engines, to the 426 Street Hemi. Transmissions that included Ma Mopar's bulletproof Torqueflite automatics and A-833 4-speeds. A huge trunk and plenty of interior room—with seating for up to six in the bench seat-equipped Belvedere II hardtop. Those elegantly tapered rear roof pillars. All that at a price competitive with the Bowtie and Blue Oval mid-size cars.
But those sales competitors didn't stand a chance on the speedways of NASCAR's top division. In the 49 points-paying races in 1966, Plymouths won 12, with the mid-sized Blue Ovals MIA until mid-season, and Bowties almost invisible, save for a couple that didn't run the full GN schedule.
Win on Sunday, sell on Mondayand look great any day of the week.
2-door sedan: The lightest of the five '66 Belvedere body styles, the 2-door sedan made its name as a roomy yet low-priced "move-up" from compact cars, given that it was only offered in low-line Belvedere I trim. (Or what there was of it.)
But the "box top" 2-door had another thing going for it: That elephant on the option list known as the 426 Hemi. In race trim with drivers like Jere Stahl, it became the latest success story in the Stock and Super Stock classes at drag strips across the country, showing its competition (usually same-year Dodge Coronets, or '62-'65 Max Wedge and Hemi-powered Mopars) their back bumpers as they lit the "WIN" lights.
4-door sedan: The biggest seller among the Belvie body styles that year, the 4-door sedan was what a lot of budget-minded new car buyers picked, for many of the same reasons given for the hardtop above. It didn't have the tapered rear roof pillars of the hardtop, but there was lots of room in the Belvedere I and Belvedere II sedans—and, like all but the Hemi-powered Belvies, they came with Chrysler's 5-year/50,000-mile powertrain warranty, then the gold standard in owner protection.
Four-door Belvies were also favorites in fleet circles, with police and taxicab versions of the Belvedere I--which used an extra-reinforced unibody, plus heavy duty powertrain and chassis parts--seeing service from coast to coast. Fleet managers loved their low purchase price and cost of operation, while those who drove them daily loved their handling in city traffic, and the response when they hit the "GO" pedal. (And that was the taxi version!)
The police version of the '66 Belvedere gained its biggest following among cops like those of the Los Angeles Police Department, which specified 383 4-barrel engines in their patrol Belvies. Combined with a heavy-duty 727 automatic and HD suspension, they were more than a match for any big-powered civilian car. (That, and their Motorola 2-way radios.) Stories abound of people back then who were deterred from doing anything stupid in traffic by the sight of a black-and-white Belvedere in their rear view mirror—and by the sound that an LAPD 383 made when the secondaries on its 4-barrel carb opened up!
Station Wagon: This was a major sales battlefield back then, with every U.S. manufacturer represented in the midsize-wagon segment of the new-car market. The Belvedere wagons combined all the features of the sedans with a big cargo area (with tapered rear roof pillars!), and added a regular-production chassis and powertrain combo that made these wagons formidable competitors in many a suburban Stoplight Grand Prix or Shopping Center Slalom.
In recent years, as the supply of project-ready two-door Belvies has diminished, more people are turning to the wagon as a cruiser and weekend fun car, one that can accommodate any engine from the Slant Six through the Hemis (426 and the modern ones) under its hood, but with room to carry the family to events, along with pop-up shelters, folding chairs, coolers and anything else needed when show-going.
Convertible: Even though there weren't a lot of them made in '66, either in bench-seated Belvedere II or bucket-seated Belvedere Satellite trim, the droptops have a special something all their own, to go along with the styling, powertrain and other highlights the steel-topped ones had (and still have). Something that likely led to more than a few of them seeing only warm-weather duty, stored away during the winter or heavy-rain seasons, which in turn led to their survival to this day.
There's one item in the LACar.com story that stands out: "Today, there are approximately 200,000 1966 Belvedere automobiles produced, according to PJC (Planet Junk cars, and their database of 33,000 junked cars, per the LACar.com story).
But, according to The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1946-1975, total 1966 Plymouth Belvedere production was 189,252. That leads to a discrepancy of 10,748 cars, which we hope are out there somewhere. Maybe a bunch of those are still stashed in garages around Southern California, away from the ravages of salt-laden coastal air and the searing summer sun.
Maybe there were some big rental-fleet purchases that weren't included in Ma Mopar's production total. (This writer remembers seeing bunches of Belvie IIs in the rental lots at Detroit Metropolitan Airport back then, so that may be a possibility.)
Regardless of how many were built, or how many are left, the LACar.com story indirectly hits on one fact—that the '66 Belvedere line is now solidly in the "keeper" category of vintage cars, sought after by car people of all ages to build into the Mopar of their dreams—or to re-create the one they had years ago!
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Owners of iOS devices that aren't holding a charge are in luck, thanks to a change Apple has made to its support policy.
Apple has changed the terms of its AppleCare+ extended warranty to allow replacements for iPhones, iPads, iPods and Apple Watches with batteries that hold less than 80 percent of their original capacity. That's an upgrade from the previous plan, which only offered free replacements for devices that dropped below 50 percent of their original capacity.
The change was noticed Friday in a post by MacRumors, and appears spurred on by Apple's expectations for its smartwatch. The company has said that it expects the Watch's battery will take about 1,000 full charge-discharge cycles before it drops below 80 percent capacity, which means that it will last for about two-and-a-half to three years. The changed policy only applies to devices purchased after April 9, so iPhone and iPad owners who got new hardware for the December holidays are still subject to the plan's previous 50 percent requirement.
AppleCare+ covers the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch for two years, while purchasers of the solid gold Apple Watch Edition get three years of coverage. In addition to battery replacements, it covers other problems with the device, includes phone support and allows users to get a lower-cost replacement of their device in the event of accidental damage.
Those people who don't pay for AppleCare+ (which costs between $59 and $1,500, depending on the device) have to pay $79 for out-of-warranty battery replacements. The limited warranty on the hardware will cover battery defects during a device's early life.
Changing the battery policy may make Apple's extended warranty an easier purchase for people who want to buy one of the company's new devices. What's more, it may help alleviate the fears some people have about the Apple Watch's battery life, since they will be able to get their smartwatch re-loaded with a new battery if something goes wrong.


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Related links:
A movie of the beta decay process (467K MPEG) Movie courtesy of University of Oregon
Neutrino History
The existence of the "neutrino" was proposed by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930. This particle had to be electrically neutral so Enrico Fermi called this particle "neutrino" which means "little neutral one" in Italian.
Neutrinos have little interaction with matter so they are difficult to detect. In 1956, physicists Reines and Cowan eventually found evidence of neutrino interactions originating in a nuclear reactor. Fred Reines was a co-winner of the Noble Prize in physics in 1995.


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Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron ChinaSynopsisWell, it was a typical day in the Tendo neighborhood. Akane and the rest of the cast were chasing Ranma down the street, wanting his blood, his hand in marriage, or other sundry things. Suddenly, though, Lychee and her combat elephant Jasmine show up with a scroll and a grudge against Happosai, the perverted master of the Anything-Goes-School-of-Martial-Arts. The scroll turns out to be an object that would signify the owner to be the bride of a Chinese prince named Kirin. Due to a mixup, Akane somehow gets her hands on the scroll just as Kirin shows up in his floating airship. Kirin and his minions, the warriors of the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists, kidnap Akane and take her with them to China. It's up to Ranma and the gang to journey to Nekonron, China to face down Kirin and his minions in a desperate fight to get Akane back! ReviewThis is the first Ranma 1/2 movie, and it does a pretty good job of living up to its namesake, even if it does go a little overboard in the silliness category. The plot is the standard rescue-the-damsel-in-distress story that we've all grown to get tired of, but as before, the characters help save it from becoming too cliched. Nothing can be taken for granted when these fellows are around, although Lychee is one of the most annoying female characters in anime I've seen thus far (besides C-ko, of course). The sequence of battles between Ranma and the rest of the Lucky Gods Martial Artists become a bit repetitive after awhile, though, and the final showdown between Ranma and Kirin was WAY over-the-top. Dialogue is great, with zingy one-liners being tossed around as if they were free. Actually, some of the best lines I've ever heard are found in this movie. The animation is pretty good as usual, and the soundtrack does a pretty good job capturing the mood of each scene. Overall, not a bad watch at all. Not quite as good as the Ranma series, but pretty fun nonetheless. Recommended Audience: Just the same as the TV and OAV series. Okay for just about everybody. Version(s) Viewed: VHS, English dub Review Status: Full (1/1) Ranma 1/2 the Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron China © 1991 Takahashi Rumiko / Shogakukan / Kitty Film / Fuji TV |
© 1996-2015 THEM Anime Reviews. All rights reserved. |


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You've seen the buzzwords at the grocery store: organic, GMO-free, shade-grown, but do you know what they really mean? In the new Eco-Foods Guide (New Society, 2002), author Cynthia Barstow, a sustainable agriculture marketing consultant and teacher, offers vital information and guidance to help you shop for healthy groceries that are easy on the environment. Use this quiz to test your current food knowledge.
1. How far on average does our food travel, from plant to plate?
2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides cause what deadly disease?
3. True or false? If you live in a cold climate, it is necessary to import some fruits and vegetables to get enough variety for a healthy diet.
4. True or false? If you want to buy foods free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), you can look to the label to learn which ingredients are GMO-free.
1. 1,300 miles. Buying locally and in season can help shorten the distance, reducing the travel cost and cutting down on waste. You'll also support your neighbor—and the environment. In one 2001 study, researchers from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University found that if Iowans got 10 percent more of their produce from local food systems, they would save between 294,000 and 348,000 gallons of fuel each year.
2. Cancer. The EPA considers a significant number of pesticides to be carcinogenic. And unfortunately, some of these pesticides are all too common. In the United States, conventional farmers used close to 658 million pounds of pesticides in 1987 and an alarming 806 million pounds in 1996.
3. False, according to at least one study reported at the International Conference on Agricultural Production and Nutrition in 1997. Researchers analyzed menus to determine the nutritional adequacy of a regional diet using a USDA-based, local-products-enhanced food guide for the Northeast. Except for an iron deficiency in the winter nonvegetarian diet, all diets provided at least 100 percent of recommended intakes for macronutrients and major vitamins and minerals.
4. False. Up to 70 percent of processed foods contain products of genetic engineering, including soft drinks, ketchup, potato chips, cookies, ice cream, and cornflakes. You don't know it, though, because the Food and Drug Administration doesn't yet require labeling. However, according to the new national organic standards, certified organic foods cannot contain GMOs.
—Pamela Emanoil


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- Keyless access
- 4 doors
- 5 seats
- 2 large suitcases
- 2 small suitcases
- Automatic
- Full to Full
- Air conditioning
- Navigation
- Android Auto
- Apple CarPlay
- Rear-view camera
- Bluetooth
- Security deposit taken 48 hours before the rental
- Collision Damage Waiver
- Theft Protection
- Security Deposit will be taken 48 hours before the rental
- Collision Damage Waiver
- Theft Protection
Renting a car with the Liigu app—how does it work?
It's like having your own car waiting for you in Toulouse Blagnac airport!
With Liigu, there is no need to go to a car rental desk. You'll only need your smartphone to find the car and start your rental — we'll give your all the necessary directions. So, after landing, you can go directly to the parking lot and drive off.
Need a car in Toulouse downtown? We'll arrange it. Liigu has suitable rental cars for cruising the busy urban areas as well as the country and mountain roads.
Travelling with family? We've got child seats for a safe journey with your little ones. Well-behaved pets are welcome too. All our rental cars are carefully cleaned and disinfected. Also, for unexpected changes of plans, we offer free cancellation until 24 hours before your pick-up. Bon voyage!
Experience fascinating Toulouse the best possible way — by car!
Car rental is the most convenient way for discovering Southwestern France and the mountain roads of the Pyrenees.
The traffic in and around Toulouse is mostly easy to handle. To save time, you might want to avoid the rush hour between 7 AM and 9 AM, and between 5 PM and 8 PM. It gets busier during the holiday season as ski centres near Toulouse attract many winter sports lovers. For safe driving in the mountains and snowy road conditions, Liigu offers snow chains as an extra to your rental car.
For driving in Toulouse city, a small or compact rental car is a great choice. If you plan longer trips to the vineyards and typical villages of Languedoc and Gascony, then we recommend renting an SUV or a more spacious car for your comfort.
The speed limit in urban areas across France is typically 50 km/h (31 mph) and sometimes 30 km/h (18 mph) in downtown areas. Two to three-lane roads have a speed limit of 80 km/h (49 mph), and four-lane roads of 110 km/h (68 mph). On motorways, the speed limit is 130 km/h (80 mph). All these limits are lower in case of rain or snowfall. It's also good to know that green directional signs point to a non-motorway main route or a "free road". The blue signs indicate a motorway route and are often marked "péage" meaning you'll need to pay a road toll.
Staying longer? Rent a car in France for 1–24 months with Liigu Car Subscription.


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Will Holland (GB)
& Speaker
Holland is currently at work on his fourth Quantic record, which will be his fifteenth studio album to date. The album is to feature influences from Ethiopian Jazz to Haitian Compas, Salsa Dura from his Colombian homestead to Detroit techno, with electric sub bass and beat programming, All part of Quantic's trademark sound. Holland records and mixes from his own Sonido del Valle studio where he utilises a range of vintage studio equipment, working as part sound engineer, musician and producer to procure a rich and original sound.
Worcestershire born, Will Holland began his musical career at the age of 16, encouraged by his father, a Welsh born folk musician who worked in mechanical engineering & computer programming and his English born mother, a talented singer and folk enthusiast. By his early teens Holland had been introduced to home recording by his father and started to experiment with sequencing and programming. This, combined with a developing habit for record collecting, a household full of instruments and two older, musical sisters, it was only natural for Holland to setup a makeshift studio in the bedroom of their timber framed home beside the river Severn. After much experimentation, Holland developed a strong repertoire, eventually attracting the attention of 'Breakin Bread Records', a London based record label through which Holland released his first 45 'We Got Soul'. It was at this point his work as a DJ began to flourish and through a visit to Brighton he was introduced to label 'Tru Thoughts'. In 2001 TT released his debut album 'The 5th Exotic' a collection of sample based songs mined from various lunchbreak trips to record shops and the diverse selection of instruments found in the Holland household, his two sisters also featured as guests.
Shortly after the success of 'The 5th Exotic' Holland began work on the first Quantic Soul Orchestra record 'Stampede', combining live drum loops with Funk & Soul riffs to pay homage to the american Rhythm & Blues 45s spun in Quantic DJ sets. This was the era of the deep funk sound in the UK & the focus was on a raw, hard and incisive dancefloor sound. In that same year 'The Limp Twins' were born, a collaboration with Worcester based singer Russell Porter that saw their debut album 'Tales from Beyond the Groove' also released on Tru Thoughts records.
Following this success and a closer working relationship with label Tru Thoughts, Holland moved his studio operations to Brighton, from which five more studio records flourished: 'Pushin On', 'Apricot Morning', 'Mishaps Happening', 'An Announcement to Answer' & 'I'm Thankful' with legendary US Soul Singer Spanky Wilson. Many of these records featured fellow Brighton resident & talented soul singer Alice Russell. During this time Quantic also toured extensively as a DJ and the Quantic Soul Orchestra circulated internationally as a twelve piece live band.
In 2005, Quantic collaborated with long time friend and NY based producer Nickodemus on Latin hit 'Mi Swing es Tropical'. The song was recorded in San Juan following an invite to Puerto Rico from Candela records and eventually receiving worldwide exposure through its use in an Itunes television advertising campaign. After a year of travelling and recording through Puerto Rico, Panama & Colombia the album 'Tropidelico' was released, a sonic adventure through Cumbia, Soul & Salsa. It was around this time that Holland upped and left for Colombia, basing himself in the western city of Cali, to explore the rich musicianship leftover from the Salsa heyday and infuse his productions in the discotecas back alleys of one of Latin America's finest musical cities. Although drawn into Colombia by the sound of Cumbia & Porro, Holland soon found himself in a city steeped in 'Pacifico' identity (a Afro Colombian genre hailing from Pacific coastal villages), melomanos (record collectors who preserve the sounds of Cuban, Puerto Rican & NY Salsa) and an overwhelming wealth of studio musicians. It was here he began working with Peruvian born virtuoso pianist Alfredito Linares, Percusionist Freddy Colorado and Pacifico folklorist singer Nidia Gongora, with whom The Combo Bárbaro was formed, Quantic Soul Orchestra drummer Malcolm Catto also featured in this group. The studio album 'Tradition in Transition' was soon released, parallel to this, Holland produced two more records 'Death of the Revolution' and 'Dog with a Rope'. Both were released by Tru Thoughts under his Dub production guise Flowering Inferno and featured Reggae rhythms combined with Cumbia & Curulao inflections.
After a pause in collaborations with singer Alice Russell, Russell travelled to Cali and embarked on a new record with Quantic, utilising the tight Sonido del Valle studio band with violinist Mike Simmonds as invited guest. Shaping an authentic, soulful and psychedelic sound, the pair released their first entire full length collobaration 'Look Around the Corner' in 2011. In 2012 Quantic went on to produce and record 'Ondatropica', a collobative project with Bogota producer Mario Galeano aka Frente Cumbiero. Featuring a cast of more 40 musicians, the British Council funded project was received with great acclaim both in Colombia and Europe. In 2012 Ondatropica embarked on an international tour, garnering attention at their performance during the 2012 London olympic celebrations and at New York's prestigious Lincoln Centre.
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Ultra-red & George Lewis: What is the Sound of Freedom?
Wed, May 2, 2012
11 am–1:45 pm
Fourth Floor
Arika describes this program as follows:
For day one of Ultra-red's project, the investigation will take up protocols for listening to the sound of freedom composed and facilitated by George E. Lewis. Lewis is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), teacher, and historian of experimental music.
Ultra-red have been working with different communities in New York for many years. For their project with us, they have invited these groups to join them for three hours each day, and to enact, reflect upon, and codify their experiences of four different protocols for listening, which will each address the question: what is the sound of freedom? Each protocol will has been devised and will be led by a different invited guest: George Lewis, members of the House/Ballroom scene, Nancy Nevárez, and Fred Moten. The final session will review the previous four days and develop summary questions and propositions.
Each three-hour session can be viewed as a performative action to be observed, or a collective learning process to be joined.
Founded in 1994 in Los Angeles, Ultra-red is a sound art and popular education collective committed to the practice of listening as a form of organizing.
For more information, visit arika.org.uk.
Free with Museum admission; no special ticketing required.
Learn more about access services and programs.


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By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) _ While some looked at murder trial witness Rachel Jeantel and saw either a defiant young woman or a victim, Tom Joyner looked at her and saw potential.
The nationally syndicated radio personality and philanthropist says he was touched by Jeantel, who spent two days testifying in the trial of George Zimmerman about her last conversation with her friend Trayvon Martin.
In fact, Joyner was so moved that he has offered to pay for Jeantel to attend the historically black college of her choice. And she's accepted.
Joyner explained the offer in an open letter to Jeantel and "all the young people in this country who, through no fault of their own, find yourself living in underserved communities and not yet figuring out your way in this world."
"I realized a hug wasn't enough," Joyner wrote in the letter posted Wednesday on BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Wednesday night, Joyner and Jeantel appeared on Headline News, where she thanked the talk-show host. Asked if she would accept his offer, she said simply, "I will." No details were discussed.
"Whatever her future is going to be, I want to help her," Joyner said on Headline News. "You stand a better chance of success if you have a college education."
Jeantel was the last person to talk to the 17-year-old before he was fatally shot in a February 2012 confrontation with Zimmerman, who claimed he shot Martin in self-defense. Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted last week of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
Jeantel, 19, has yet to graduate from high school. Before attending college, she would have to get a diploma and take entrance exams. Joyner also offered to provide her with tutors to accomplish those goals.
"We are committed to meeting you where you are, helping you to get your GED and prepping you for the historically black college or university of your choice," Joyner wrote in the letter.
Joyner has supported historically black colleges and students who attend them through the Tom Joyner Foundation. According to its website, the foundation has raised $65 million to support more than 29,000 students attending historically black colleges and universities, many of which have their roots in 19th century efforts to educate newly freed slaves.
Joyner wrote that he'd only ask in return that Jeantel try to make a difference in someone's life.
"Time and time again, we watch our young people get written off, tossed aside or put at the end of the line because no one wants to give them a chance," he said.
Joyner has provided full scholarships in the past to others, including Genarlow Wilson, who at age 17 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for engaging in sex acts with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson's conviction was ultimately overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court, and he graduated from Morehouse College in May with a degree in sociology.
Tom Joyner's letter: http://blackamericaweb.com/147347/an-open-letter-to-rachel-jeantel/
The Tom Joyner Foundation: http://tomjoynerfoundation.org/